


Between the Crosses

by Miko



Series: We Shall Keep The Faith [1]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/M, early romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 19:44:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3423293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's so rare for them to have time to themselves, Steve wants to cherish every moment he spends with Peggy.</p><p>This fic can stand alone if you're not interested in the rest of the series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between the Crosses

Sometimes, Steve thought that his relationship with Peggy Carter was the worst kept secret in the Allied Forces. Considering the way soldiers gossiped, that was saying something. Of course, the damned news reel that had caught a close-up of her photo tucked into the lid of his compass didn’t help any.

Officially, there was nothing between them. If pushed hard, they’d usually admit that the interest was there, but insist that the war came first. Steve’s answer when the press demanded a quote was - quite truthfully - that they’d never even been on a date, but he hoped to take her dancing in celebration when the fighting was over.

Fewer people were aware that they did in fact have more chances to see each other than most realized, because Peggy was as much a member of the Howling Commandos as any of his men. She didn’t come on every mission, but she’d been invaluable a number of times, and Steve honestly didn’t know what he’d have done without her. Thankfully, they’d been able to keep that out of the news reels, though he suspected it had more to do with the brass not wanting to admit a woman was out on the front lines than anything else.

The God’s honest truth was that there were a dozen reasons preventing Steve and Peggy from being able to really be together, whether they spent time in each other’s company or not. First there was the problem that as a captain, he technically outranked her - complicated by the fact that she was his liaison with the top brass, and therefore arguably outranked him right back.

There was her reputation to consider, as well. People were usually smart enough not to make derisive comments about her to _him_ , but Bucky and the rest of the Commandos had gotten into more than one fight to defend her honour. Unfortunately, that just made tongues wag all the harder. Peggy insisted that she couldn’t care less what the small-minded people around them thought of her, and Steve knew she’d already faced a lot of condemnation just for being a woman in the military world. Still, he hated that she had to go through that, and didn’t want to make it any worse for her than it had to be.

Completing the missions had to be a matter of absolute priority, of course, and they didn’t often have much in the way of down time out in the field. When they were at a base, they were dragged into meeting after strategy session after debriefing, both separately and together. Almost inevitably, if one of them had time, the other was busy.

Every once in a while, though, they would manage to steal a few moments alone together. Today, it was because they’d set up camp early and were waiting for the advance scouts to come back with the information Steve needed to plan his next move. Of the people left in camp, Bucky declared he needed to take apart and clean his rifle, Falsworth wanted to set some snares to hopefully add fresh meat to the pot tonight, and Morita - after a not very subtle kick in the ankle from Bucky - decided it was about time he wrote a letter home to his family.

As the others wandered off, Steve gave Peggy a rueful smile. “Think they could be any more obvious about it?”

“Oh, I’m certain they could if they tried,” she replied, and her return smile had a mischievous quirk to it. “Regardless, I don’t intend to look a gift horse in the mouth. I think it’s been a month or more since we’ve said a word to each other that wasn’t related to a mission in some way.”

“How about we go for a walk?” Steve held his hand out to her, trying not to feel shy about it, and was pleased when she wrapped her fingers around his without hesitation. 

“That sounds lovely. For once we’re not already behind enemy lines, so as long as we’re careful and stay within the perimeter, we shouldn’t have to worry about an attack.” Peggy’s soft voice had the most beautiful lilt to it when she was happy, and it always made Steve’s heart beat faster to hear it. 

They didn’t dare go too far from the camp, but Steve thought it would be safe enough to go over the hill to the next little valley, giving them a bit more privacy. They walked together through the woods, the early summer weather warm but not yet the stifling misery it would become later in the year. 

Steve tried hard not to feel awkward as they strolled along. He never seemed to know what to say at moments like this; when he tried to say something flattering or flirtatious, he ended up looking like an idiot. Having Peggy smile at him as a result was nice, but he was convinced there were better ways to go about it. Bucky insisted Steve just needed practice, but he got so few opportunities that he only seemed to be getting worse instead.

In the silence, he could hear the near-constant thunder of the guns in the distance. The front lines weren’t so close they needed to worry about a sudden bombing, but nowhere in Europe seemed to be far enough away not to hear them, any more. It was an inescapable reminder of their grim purpose for being here, but it wasn’t what Steve wanted to be thinking about at the moment.

Then they crested the little hill, and Steve stopped short as he saw the wide river of red that seemed to flow through meadow in the next valley. “What on Earth?” he exclaimed, staring. After a moment he realized they were flowers, so thick and lush they seemed solid from a distance. 

“Poppies,” Peggy said, and the happy lilt had been replaced by sadness. Steve glanced down at her, and saw her eyes fixed on the valley, dark with grief and sorrow. “One of the beautiful tragedies of the Great War... and this one too, probably. They grow everywhere here, but especially on the burial fields.”

Burial fields. Now that she’d said it, Steve could see the weathered crosses scattered across the valley at regular intervals, far too many of them to count. Grief squeezed at his own heart, and a heavy sort of futile despair that was difficult to shake off.

“We just never learn, do we?” Staring out at the multitude of graves, Steve couldn’t help but picture every one of his men ending up in a similar resting spot. It could happen, all too easily. “How many thousands have died already, and how many thousands more to come? There’s always another battle, another war, another pointless reason to kill each other. Nothing we do really makes any difference.”

“Don’t think of it like that.” Now Peggy’s distress was aimed at him, and she turned to wrap her arms around his waist and lean against him. Steve held her back, careful not to clutch too hard, and tried to memorize the feel of her embrace for all the times he couldn’t have her with him.

“Steve, we _are_ making a difference,” she insisted. “Perhaps there will always be people like Hitler and Schmidt. Humanity has darkness within it. But as long as there are also people like you and the Commandos, there’s light as well to balance it. Every single person alive in the 107th owes their life to you, and a dozen other companies besides. Freedom is worth the fight, never doubt it.”

“Yeah.” He knew she was right, and it wasn’t as if he would ever stop fighting, no matter how bad things got. Maybe especially if they got bad. He managed a smile for her, and met her eyes. “Don’t forget to include yourself among those lights, Peggy. You’re the one who convinced me I could make a difference in the first place, after all.”

This time her brilliant smile had nothing to do with amusement at his stammering, and everything to do with the same sort of warmth that burned in Steve’s chest every time he looked at her. Why couldn’t it always be that easy to say things that made her happy?

“I just wish we could have more moments like this,” he added. Feeling bold, he cupped her face in one hand, brushing his thumb over her cheek, and was thrilled when she leaned into the touch.

“We’ll get our chance,” she assured him, her hands coming up to run over his back, pulling him closer. “You still owe me that dance, after all, and I intend to collect.”

She had that look on her face, the one of breathless anticipation that made Steve’s heart pound. Slowly he leaned down to close the distance between them, half certain as always that he _must_ be reading her wrong, but she rose up on tiptoe to meet him half way.

Their lips brushed together, hers soft and lush against his, the sweet taste of her stealing his heart all over again. Nothing in his life had prepared him for the way she made him feel. He wanted to sweep her off her feet and carry her away and just... always _be_ with her.

That, and other less innocent things, especially when she parted her lips and invited him in. 

As if the universe had been waiting for it, the moment his tongue touched hers the sound of gunfire rang out, far closer than the rumbling thunder from the front lines. Groaning, Steve pulled back a scant inch and rested his forehead against hers, trying not to be obvious about breathing heavily.

“It never fails,” he muttered. “I swear, HYDRA sits around waiting for us to have a moment to ourselves before they ambush us. One of these days I want to _finish_ getting to kiss you!”

She laughed and tightened her grip on him in turn. “I suppose we could leave the others to it? It doesn’t sound like there are very many, I’m sure they could handle it.”

He knew she was teasing, but the thought was very tempting for a moment. Finally he sighed and forced his reluctant hands to let go of her. “If anyone was hurt because we weren’t there to help, neither of us would ever forgive ourselves.”

Before he could back away entirely, she caught him by the neck and tugged him down for one last kiss, fast and hard. “We’ll get our chance,” she repeated her earlier words, no less determined than before. “Once this is all over, Steve. I promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he told her, and finally stepped away. He reached for his shield, and she pulled her gun, and they headed back towards the camp to catch the attacking enemy force from the flank.

For once he went into battle with a lighter heart, her promise tucked away in a corner of it to keep him from forgetting that it would all be worth it in the end.


End file.
